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Self-acceptance is not a mythical creature everyone knows about but never really saw. It’s real. And unlike a unicorn, whose absence is not that vital for our lives, self-acceptance decides whether you’re going to have the life of your dream or not. It’s also vital for your mental health.

I always say that self-acceptance is where it either begins or ends for you. It’s one of the major keys to having a happy, fulfilling life.

Now, let’s turn to the definition of self-acceptance.

Self-acceptance is, first and foremost, a form of awareness of your strengths and weaknesses (your positives and your negatives) either given by nature or shaped by life circumstances.

It begins with learning all aspects ...

If you were an apple, there would be needed two halves to make you whole. Well, in case with us, humans, two halves would not be enough to form your naturally multisided personality and complete a healthy balance to your cooperation with the outside world.

What I mean by that? In my previous post I wrote about self-acceptance and its importance in acquiring solid ground for personal growth and development. I stressed that self-acceptance is not one-time thing you can get once and for all but rather a journey of awareness where each time you learn better.

Well, these 5 spheres that lie in the base of shaping the understanding of your worthiness as an individual in the society, are responsible for not only sharpening your awareness, which impr...

It’s been always the same, like a badly written story where one human being stands against another. Some use fists to defend their truths, others are sharp at tongue. Each is reluctant to give up.

But does it really matter?

It’s a fact that huge part of people living on this planet struggle to make their lives better. This is understandable. Each has their list of beliefs, deeply engraved on the innate side of their being. But for what I learned, if the life you have today is not yet the life of your dream then surely, the beliefs you’re guarding so much are not simply working for you.

For some reasons, it’s in us to feel like defending ourselves against people’s thoughts, people’s words, people’s actions, in othe...

I was born in Russia. How did it happen that almost half of my life I’ve consciously dedicated to learning English, I find rather hard to narrate in few words… But today’s reality is that one of the main things I do for living is working as a freelance translator, using both my passion for English language and my Russian roots to provide the best translations for my clients.

But sometimes, being a translator can be tricky. Mainly, because being a freelance translator means being a negotiator as well. So, before my work as a translator begins, I have to make sure that the ground for the work laying ahead is solid and my collaboration with the client is build right.

As a translator with experience, I’m aware of all the aspects...

"Short story is not a sailing ship to take you far in the ocean but a boat to transport you fast on the other side."

Honestly, I had not much of interest in short stories before. I — an experienced bookworm — obviously, preferred full length novels over twelve-page stories. I liked to sail far rather than jump in for a short ride. Till one day, I accidently got The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells in my hands. Unwrapped on a very delicate line between illusion and reality, it was narrated in such exquisite way that I was immediately dragged in, headfirst.

This was the beginning of my journey into the world of short stories.

Doubtless today, I can assure you, that reading short stories is, indeed, one of the greatest ways to delv...

Everyone has a view at what happiness is. Some, manage to find happiness in mundane things, like taking a stroll outside in the morning, others search happiness beyond things that can be touched, dedicating their daily activities to spiritual practices and self-education.

But what about ultimate happiness – the state of mind that is peaceful and content?

In this easy conversation, I want to share 10 reasons that might be the cause of your yet not found happiness.

Reason #1 Internal Conflict

‘The scariest monsters are those who lurk within our souls.’ by Edgar Alan Poe

I’ve never met a person who did not have some internal conflicts to de...

Those who have a natural attraction to reading, are indeed lucky! But not all of us, lucky bookworms, are being productive in our reading. Quite often, this very attraction turns us into blind puppies that can easily consume book after book and yet struggle to form a good understanding of what those books are about.

When time to leave a comment on the book comes, unproductive reader tends to skip it.

What being a productive reader means?

First of all, it means a consistent reading. Of course! But it also means paying attention and being present, while holding a book in your hands. I know on the personal experience, how alluring idea to just dive in a book and eat it like a creamy slice of cake with one bite is. I’ve been there, I&rs...

There is only one way to turn one book into many, and it is to TRANSLATE.

Yet, the amount of books that never gets a chance to be translated is enormous. It is even more so in the world of Indie Authors and their baby books. If you want to taste how truly dramatic this is, imagine ocean of books, drifting away from the starving hearts of its potential readers.

Imagine Shakespeare, drowned in among those drifting away waters of words.

Imagine Kafka, never crossing the border of Germany.

As a Russian/English speaking person, I’ve read dozens and dozens of books, some of them written by my favorite American/British Indie Authors, that will more likely never be t...

Good translator is not a unicorn. Surely if you know where to look, you will find plenty.

The most common way – Translation Agencies. But even though it is one of the easiest ways to find a translator for your book, it will cost you times more as well.

So if you are an Indie Author on a limited budget, what do you do? Where do you search? And the most important question: how to do you find a right translator for your book?

If you have ever asked any of those questions, you are in the right place. The answer is Freelance Translators.

Choosing between Translation Agencies and Freelance Translators, it would be unfair to say that one is better than the other, cause bot...

We are living in times, when everything has a price but this price is not always reasonable.

Who would not want to save some money if there is a chance to? Especially, when we talk about Book Translation.

Don’t get me wrong. There are no witless toilers ready to translate your book for a hundred of bucks. Book Translation takes time and money, and time is one of the main things that can help you to save some money! Another thing that might be useful regarding saving is Reason. About this we will talk in a moment, but before, let’s have a look at how price for Book Translation is formed.

1. Book Length

In my previous posts on ...

I remember good days like a vague outline of the bridge which I enter on the days, dark like night sky.

It affects my writing. It affects me. It affects people, I care about. And even though there is no way to dispel clouds from life once and for all, there is still a way to help yourself stay on both feet in the storm of dark days.

Journaling yourself out of anything!

I was 10 years old when I first met people involved in business, self-development, mental/physical health and all of them in one voice were telling about the power of journaling. I was so wired up with their energy and even though I was just a ten years old girl and hardly could tell if I needed to journal myself out of anything (I was writing in my diary sometimes, but most of the ...

To make a written text shine you need to trust it to the hands of a knowing polisher

—Editor.

Exquisitely written books not just tell you a story, they speak it to you as if this very story is the echo of your own life. Exquisitely written books have logical flow and don’t tolerate meaningless words on their golden pages. Just like in the creation of life, in exquisitely written books all elements are important for healthy functioning of the whole organism (whether it is life or a story).

But what has it to do with book translation, you may ask?! And the answer to this questions is rather simple.

Everything.

Unlike technical, commercial, scientific, etc., translations, literat...

For years, I was holding any thoughts of becoming a Literary Translator at bay, mainly, because as a writer, I did not want to do anything else but write. But life has its own ways with us and every time I was fortunate enough to stumble across an amazing book, I was shown over and over again the sad side of the exquisite world of writing.

Most of the things you write half of the world will never have a chance to know just because it will never be translated.

But today, when I am seriously taking on the Literary Translation Mission, I more and more discover pitfalls that I think might be the reasons why Book Translation, even to the present day, stays a blurry spot in the world of Literature.

How can it be otherwise, you can say, considering how t...

Have you ever met a small person? I’m not talking about size, even though for some size is what really matters. I’m talking about emotional aspect of human presence that makes some of us look like a tiny dot lost in never ending space of any room we walk in. Whereas others, once inside of that same room, would make us feel they are the only ones in it.

So, what was wrong with the Bird that looked like a Fly? One thing obviously – it’s was not a Fly. It was a BIRD! So, why it looked like a fly to everyone else?

For me, as I’m sure for most of you, this matter is personal. We all do this, whether we realize it or not. We make ourselves, in most cases unintentionally, look like mere flies, when in fact, we are gorgeous, cheery birds.

How do you learn the mastery of literary translation? By translating.

The more you translate the better you get. But there is a side effect and I'm just going to call it what it is – over-confidence.

In real life, confidence helps us to move up the professional ladder, to get more friends or to achieve the boldest dreams we could only have. And yet, according to the law of the balance, good things are good in a right amount. Overdose of any good can be a cause of the most surprising in scale disasters.

Over-confidence in literary translation is like driving Bugatti through the streets of London in a doped state. In other words, not a good idea. But I’ll try to keep metaphors aside and get straight to the business.

Being a ...